UNC Rebounds, Defeats Bulldogs

But it was exactly what the North Carolina men's soccer team needed as it shut out UNC-Asheville 3-0 Tuesday night at Fetzer Field.

Coming off a 2-0 loss at Virginia on Saturday, UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said Tuesday's game against the Bulldogs (2-4) was good preparation for Saturday's match against Duke.

"We still need to find our team shape and rhythm," Bolowich said. "We are still experimenting with some personnel to give them a look and a chance to contribute."

No. 13 UNC (5-2, 0-1 in the ACC) controlled play from the opening whistle and achieved one of Bolowich's game goals: getting an early score.

In the 12th minute, Tar Heel freshman Marcus Storey put UNC on the scoreboard with his third goal of the season. After dribbling past several UNC-A defenders, Storey's shot beat Bulldog goalie Andrew Heath to the near post.

North Carolina stretched its lead to

2-0 in the 21st minute after junior David Testo converted a penalty kick. The Tar Heels were awarded the penalty kick when sophomore Sean McGinty was pulled down in the penalty box by a UNC-A defender.

The rest of the first half -- and much of the rest of the game -- was played without much excitement as neither team established much offense.

UNC central back Danny Jackson said the Bulldogs' defense, combined with the Tar Heels' inconsistent play, provided few opportunities to establish any offensive flow.

"It was a matter of us not playing the ball around well," Jackson said. "I think we would've like to play better, but we needed a scrappy game."

UNC finished off the game's scoring in the 51st minute. Senior Noz Yamauchi found Matt Crawford in the penalty box, and the junior midfielder from Durham headed home Yamauchi's cross to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 cushion.

The rest of the game provided North Carolina with several scoring chances, but the Tar Heels were unable to convert any of their opportunities.

McGinty said the team needs to work in practice on finishing scoring opportunities but said he was satisfied with UNC's performance after the Virginia loss.

"It was the kind of game where we wanted to get things back to normal and get our heads back on straight," McGinty said.

And Jackson said Tuesday's win was a step toward regaining a form similar to that of last year's team.

"If we can eliminate sloppy goals and lapses in concentration, I think we can do very well."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.